Container with unstoppering system and means for its manufacture

ABSTRACT

A container of plastic material made in one piece with its neck, the neck being adapted for cooperation with a stopper to be irremovably inserted therein. The neck is provided with incorporated means to weaken its strength along a section whereby the section may be severed by hand to permit removal of the stopper from the neck portion located beneath the section.

United States Patent 1 1 1111 3,902,619

Gouget Sept. 2, 1975 CONTAINER WITH UNSTOPPERING 7 955,309 4/1910 Bebler215/33 SYSTEM AND MEANS FOR ITS 1,012,319 12/1911 Bley N IF 2,324,2377/1943 Reichel MA ACTURE 2,806,620 9/1957 Blanch 215/251 [76] Inventor:Jacques Maurice Gouget, 3 rue 3,083,858 4/1963 Biedenstein 215/32dAuteuil, 75016 Paris, France [22] Filed: June 11, 1973 7 PrimaryExaminerHerbert E Ross Attorney, Agent, or FirmRay:mond A. Robic; Arthur[211 App! 368629 Schwartz; Louis Allahut [30] Foreign ApplicationPriority Data June 14, 1972 France 72.21310 [57] ABSTRACT Apr. 16, 1973France 73.13624 A container of plastic material made in one piece with52 US. Cl. 215/33; 215/253 its neck, the neck being adapted forcooperation with 51 1111. C1 B65d 1/02; B65d 17/24 a pp to beirremovably inserted therein- The neck 5 8 Field of Search 215/2, 32,33, 34, 252, is Provided with incorporated means to Weaken its 2 5 253strength along a section whereby the section may be severed by hand topermit removal of the stopper 5 References Cited from the neck pottionlocated beneath the section.

UNITED STAT S PATEN E TS 12 Claims, 14 Drawing Figures 832,452 10/1906Bloom 215/33 PATEMEUSEP 2197s 3.902.619

sum 3 0f 3 Fig.13 44b CONTAINER WITH UNSTOPPERING SYSTEM AND MEANS FORITS MANUFACTURE This invention relates to containers, for example,bottles, flagons, cans and other vessels made in one piece with theirnecks in plastic material, and to apparatus for their manufacture.

In known containers of this kind, a stopper plugs the neck of thecontainer and an encapsulating system crimps a part of the neck to sealthe stopper. With these arrangements, a portion of the capsule whichcaps the stopper or which is integral with it has to be destroyed inorder to unstopper the neck.

These sealed stoppering systems are expensive and lack simplicity. Theuser must exercise a certain amount of care to avoid cutting himselfwith metal capsules. In addition, stoppers topped by capsules offerlittle grip for holding, which makes it difficult to remove thestoppers.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a containerof plastic material made in one piece with its neck, the neck beingadapted for cooperation with a stopper to be irremovably inserted in theneck and having a weaker section whereby the severing by hand of theneck portions on either side of the weaker section permits to remove thestopper.

In a preferred embodiment the weaker section of the neck is provided byslots and/or grooves and/or apertures in the neck.

The means for non-removably retaining the stopper and the weaker necksection are located above the level at which the stopper seals with thecontainer neck.

The parts of the neck on either side of the weaker section are connectedtogether by bridge pieces located between the apertures and/or slotsdefining the said section. One method of severing these bridge pieces torelease the sealing stopper consists of holding the container in onehand and holding the neck portion above the weaker section with theother, then applying a relative twisting action between the two whichbreaks the bridge pieces, the strength of which has been calculated forthis purpose.

The severing of these bridge pieces is facilitated by having bridgepieces of at least two different lengths, so that the shorter bridgepieces are severed first, followed by the longer bridge pieces.

The severing of these bridge pieces is also facilitated by having thebridge pieces arranged between longitudinal apertures which are inclinedto the horizontal. In this case the twisting action is transformed intoa pulling action when the opposite aperture edges slide one on top ofthe other. An optimum choice of inclination results in a large pullingforce for fracturing the bridge pieces.

In a further preferred embodiment, the container is made in a moulddesigned to suit a blown air extrusion machine having a calibratingmandrel. A crown is in corporated into the container neck during themoulding process to provide the weaker neck section. The crown canproduce a peripheral groove in the neck and may have inwardly directedprojections which totally pierce the neck wall with the cooperation ofthe calibrating mandrel. The crown is preferably of metal and may becoated with silicon to prevent it sticking to the plastic material ofthe neck.

A twist with the hand on the top part of the neck while holding thecontainerfirmly is sufficient to sever the bridge pieces in the weakerpart of the neck defined by the crown.

The severing of the neck by a twisting action is facilitated by formingthe neck above the weaker section with a rough or wave form peripheryrather than smooth cylindrical, so that it becomes easier to grip.

The projections in the crown are advantageously provided with sharpradial edges and the crown given a wave form flanged periphery so thatthe crown may be easily gripped and rotated relative to the neck tosever the neck by the sharp edges of the crown projections cuttingthrough the bridging pieces.

In an alternative embodiment, two lines of weakness separated by anintermediate neck portion are provided around the neck, a pull-tab beingprovided inte grally with the intermediate neck portion. A pull on thetab causes the neck to split along the weaknesses to sever the neck,theintermediate neck portion being torn away from the neck.

Two possible methods of providing a pull-tab proud of the neck surfaceso that a double split is initiatedare as follows:

a. In each half mould designed to cooperate with a blown air extrusionmachine, two semi-circular bosses work together with the calibratingmandrel to form grooves and apertures around two parallel weakersections of the neck of a moulded container. Between the two groups ofbosses a localised boss is provided in each half mould, starting at themould opening joint face. When the mould is closed, these two bossesbecome joined side-by-side and thus work in conjunction with thecalibrating mandrel to pierce the neck wall before the mould is opened.

In practice, on opening the mould, one of the bosses deep in the neckwall momentarily holds the container, the other boss, suitablyhookshaped, pulls the plastic material which severs the intermediateneck portion a short distance along each side following each line ofweakness and forms the pull-tab which later on can be continued to bepulled by hand in order to split the neck by double rupturing ofits wallalong the two weaker sections. b. In the injection mould designed for ablown air injection machine, a boss produces an aperture in theintermediate portion of the neck located between the two weakersections. An impression of the pull-tab is made in the neck die at thebottom of the aperture producing boss. Thus the moulded container isprovided with a pull-tab located between theweaker sections in the neck.A pull on this pull-tab is sufficient to cause a double rupturing of theneck wall along the two weaker sections.

In an alternative embodiment, the weaker neck section is provided bydestroying partly and/or by transforming totally or partly the structureand/or the nature of the plastic material of the container neck alongthis section to make it weaker and to permit to sever it by handsubsequently.

For this purpose, this section of the container neck is subjected to theeffects of carefully selected and arranged sources, the intensity ofwhich has been calculated accordingly.

In preferredembodiments and according to the nature. of the plasticmaterial constituting the neck, the selected sources are calorific(infra red radiancy or high frequency) and/or acoustic (effect ofresonance), and/or ultra sonic, and/or of laser radiancy, and/or maser,and/or of ionic radiancy, and/or. of luminous or ultra violet radiancy,and/or of electromagnetic radiancy such as microwaves of the order of2450 megahertz and/or capable of bombarding particles at very highspeed. 7

After it has been subjected to the effect of one of these sources, thestrength of the neck section is weakened. It is then sufficient to holdthis neck by hand on either side of the said section and twist it tosever the neck and to permit to open and close the container.

To ensure that a stopper is irremovable once pressed into the containerneck, the end of the neck may have an inwardly directed flange belowwhich a shoulder on the stopper lodges. The stopper or the neck must beof elastic material to permit the stopper to be pressed into the neck tolocate the shoulder below the flange. The stopper may additionally havea flange which abuts the neck mouth or a shoulder formed in the neck torestrict the entry of the stopper into the neck.

Alternatively, the stopper may be held in position in the neck by a capfastened to the neck or crimped in the neck, by welding or thermalwelding part of the stopper to the neck, or by gripping the edge of thestopper in a groove running round the outside at the end of the neck inorder that the said unit cannot be removed from the neck.

These and other features of the present invention will become apparentfrom the following description, given by way of example and withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an axial crosssection through a container neck and stopper;

FIG. 2 is an axial cross-section through a different neck and stopper;

FIG. 3 is a side view illustrating a weakened neck portion;

FIG. 4 is a side view illustrating an alternative weakened neck portion;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a crown designed to be partly inserted at thelevel of the weaker section of a container neck;

FIG. 6 is a side elevation of the crown shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is an axial cross-section through an alternative neck andstopper;

FIG. 8 is an axial cross-section through a further neck and stopper;

FIG. 9 is an axial cross-section through a yet further neck and stopper;

FIG. 10 is an axial cross-section through a still further neck andstopper;

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary cross-section of moulding apparatus;

FIG. 12 shows a moulding apparatus with portions thereof shown incross-section;

FIG. l3v is a fragmentary cross-section taken along the line AA of FIG.12; and

FIG. 14 is a fragmentary cross-section taken along the line B-B of FIG.12.

Referring to FIG. 1, a container 1 comprises a neck la having a flangelb, an inner seat 10, a collar 1d, a groove 1e and apertures If. Thegroove and apertures define a weaker section of the neck. A stopper 2 iselastically deformed by pressing into the neck la and is non-removablyretained therein by a shoulder 2b abutting upwards against flange lb anddownwards against seat 1c. The stopper has a crown 2a and a skirt 2(-which cooperates with collar 1d to ensure sealing of the stopper. Achamfer 2d on the end of the skirt assists in the insertion of thestopper into the container neck. The grooves 1e and apertures 1f arearranged to provide a weakness in the neck such that if the container isheld in one hand and the other is used to impart a twisting action tothe top part of the neck, the bridge pieces between the apertures andgrooves are severed. The stopper then becomes detachable together withthe upper part of the neck from that part of the neck which remainsintegral with the container.

In the arrangement shown in FIG. 2 a container 3 comprises a neck 3a towhich a stopper 4 is elastically deformed and is non-removable. Grooves3b and apertures 3c are provided but are located differently from theembodiment shown in FIG. 1. The grooves and apertures define a weakersection at which the neck may be severed in the sameway as in theprevious embodiment.

, FIG. 3 shows parts 6 and 7 of a neck located on either side of aweaker section formed by apertures arranged to leave short bridge pieces4 and long bridge pieces 5 connecting the portions 6 and 7 of the neck.When portion 7 is firmly held and a twisting action is applied to neckportion 6, shorter bridge pieces 4 are ruptured first of all, followedby the rupture of the longer bridge pieces 5. In conjunction, these twotypes of bridge piece limit the degree of severing effort required tosplit around the neck.

In an alternative arrangement of apertures shown in FIG. 4, parts 11 and12 of the neck are located on either side of the weaker section formedby the apertures which are arranged to leave vertical bridge pieces 8and which are formed with portions having inclined sides 9 and 10. Whena twisting action is applied to neck section 11 and neck section 12 isfirmly held, the inclined sides 9 and 10 rub together and transform thetwisting action exerted to a pulling action, pulling apart the neckparts 11, 12 and consequently fracturing the connecting bridges 8.

A crown 14, FIGS. 5 and 6, may be inserted in the blown air mould of ablown air extrusion machine having a calibrating mandrel. This crown 14may equally be inserted in a blown air mould of a blown air injectionmachine to be incorporated into the container neck during moulding ofthe latter. The crown edge 15 produces a groove round the container neckand carefully dimensioned projections 16 produce hollows in the plasticmaterial in the neck wall in the area of the weaker section. A weaknessis thus created by lack of plastic material in the neck wall which iseasily split by applying a twisting action at its upper part.

The projections 16 on the crown may be provided with bevel edges 17 andthe crown itself with a waveform periphery 18 such that it is'sufficientjust to hold the container firmly and apply a twisting action to thecrown in order to cut through the neck wall and split it across. In thiscase the edges 17 are rotated to cut through the neck.

The arrangement of container neck and stopper shown in FIG. 7 is similarto that shown in FIG. 1 except that the upper part of the neck has awaveform periphery 20 and that the stopper 21 is irremovably retained inthe neck by'a cap 22 secured to the neck at 23.

In a further embodiment,.shown in FIG. 8, the stopover the stopper.

Stopper 28 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 9, is irremovable because apart of its crown is secured at 29 by welding, adhesion or thermalwelding to neck 30.

Stopper 31, FIG. 10, is irremovable because an integral inwardlydirected flange is held in groove 33 of a neck 34.

The stoppering system is preferably manufactured with apparatus designedspecifically for the purpose.

In order to reduce the strength at one section of the neck, variousmethods may be used in the manufacture, and in particular the methodsinvolving the use of the following apparatus: a. A number of fixed orretractable projections are arranged in the impression of the neck inthe mould to provide grooves or apertures in the neck wall which therebyrenders the neck fracturable by hand at its weaker section. b.Projections are made in the neck impression of a mould designed to suita blown air extrusion machine for working together with the machinescalibrating mandrel. The mandrel penetrates the neck of the container,forcing back the plastic material on either side of the projections. Theprojections which are tangential to the mandrel produce apertures in theneck wall of the container and those which fail to reach it producegrooves. c. Projections arranged in the impression of the neck of amould designed to fit a blown air injection moulding machine, whichproduce grooves and/or apertures in the neck wall the moment the plasticmaterial is injected. The groove and the aperture shown in FIG. 1 can beproduced in this way. d. A mould designed to suit a blown air extrusionmachine having a special mandrel fitted near its end with a crowncovered with projections arranged to cooperate with a shoulder in theimpression of the neck of the mould to produce a weaker section in theneck with grooves and apertures arranged, for example, as shown in FIG.2. e. A mould designed to suit a blown air extrusion machine having acalibrating mandrel, a groove being provide in the impression of theneck of the mould, and a crown of the type shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 beingprovided in this groove, such that the calibrating mandrel forces theplastic material against the sides of the impression, the carefullydimensioned projections in the crown produce grooves and/or apertures inthe neck wall to define a weaker section. FIG. 11 shows a system forinserting the crowns 14 in the neck impression 35 in the opening ofmould 36. A loading chute 37 leads to a chamber 38 where a plunger 39operated by a double-acting jack 40 pushes the crowns into a groove 41in the neck impression 35. The plunger supplies one crown during eachcycle, at the same time cutting off the supply of the following crownsuntil the next cycle starts. Crown l4 rests in groove 41 with a certainamount of play. It automatically centres itself round the mandrel (notshown) which is provided with a chamfered end.

f. A mound designed to fit a blown air machine in which it is notintended to use a calibrating mandrel or in which one is not fitted,slots being provided in the impression of the neck wall to allow asystem of mobile cutting blades moving in limited rectilinear or arcuatefashion to pass through, which, after the air blowing,

enable the neck wall to be cut to produce slots therein to define theweaker section.

FIGS. l2, l3 and 14 show as an example a method of application of thisparticular tooling system.

This tooling system is arranged in'the mould round the impression oftheneck and comprises four blades 42a 42b'- 42c and 42d pivoted aboutaxes 43a, 43b, 43c and 43d and mounted with the mould parts 44a and 44b.The blades are operated by jacks 45 driven by a fluid entering at 46aand 46b during each cycle of container manufacture. Springs 47 returnthe blades to their initial positions when the 'fluid has ceased to acton the fourjacks. The neck wall becomes slit along four sectors 48between which plastic material 49 remains uncut. I

The described stoppering systems can be advantageously employed in allcases where containers in plasticmaterial such as bottles, cans, etc.,used as non returnable items, have to guarantee the origin of theircontents bythe provision of a sealed stopper andwhich can be temporarilyrestoppered by the user. After the stoppering of the container has beencompleted at the bottling plant, the stopper sealing is ensured by thenecessity to sever the neck in order to detach the stopper from thecontainer. This system of sealed stoppering without a stoppering capsuleis very economical and particularly easy to unstopper and then torestopper. It provides absolute safety and is specially suited tostoppering bottles and cans containing mineral water, wine, edible oils,mineral oils, etc.

I claim:

1. A container having a neck comprising a weakened section separatingsaid neck into a portion above said weakened section and a portion belowsaid weakened section; said portion above said weakened sectioncomprising a flange and an inner seat, said flange situated above saidinner seat; said portion below said weakenedsection comprising a collar;said container being fitted with a one piece stopper inserted withinsaid neck and having a skirt and a shoulder, said skirt cooperating withsaid collar to ensure sealing of the stopper in that portion of the neckbelow the weakened section, said shoulder abutting upwards against saidflange and downward against said inner seat so as to make the stopperirremovable from that portion of the neck above the weakened section;said weakened section capable of being severed by hand to permit removalof the stopper from that portion of the neck below the severed weakenedsection.

2. A container fitted with a stopper as claimed in claim 1 wherein theskirt of said stopper cooperates with said collar of said container neckpermitting said container to be opened and closed subsequent to thesevering of said weakened section.

3. A container fitted with a stopper as claimed in claim 1 wherein saidweakened section is provided with elongated aperture portions andwherein the portion of the neck on either side of the weakened sectionis interconnected by a plurality of bridging pieces, each of saidbridging pieces arranged between a pair of elongated aperture portions.

4. A container fitted with a stopper as claimed in claim 3 wherein saidplurality of bridging pieces consist of a first plurality of bridgingpieces of a first length and a second plurality of bridging pieces of asecond length.

5. A container fitted with a stopper as claimed in claim 3 wherein theelongated aperture portions consist of sections on either side of thebridging piece which are inclined.

6. A container fitted with a stopper as claimed in claim 1 wherein saidweakened section is provided with grooves.

7. A container fitted with a stopper as claimed in claim 1 wherein theneck portion above the weakened section is provided with a non-circularexternal shape.

8. A container fitted with a stopper as claimed in claim 1 wherein saidweakened section is provided with an auxiliary crown-shaped member, theinternal edges thereof having projections which totally pierce the neckat said weakened section.

9. A container fitted with a stopper as claimed in claim 8 wherein saidprojections have sharpened radial edges.

10. A container fitted with a stopper as claimed in claim 8 wherein saidauxiliary crown-shaped member is provided with a noncircular externalshape.

11. A plastic container having a neck comprising a weakened section, anoutwardly extending flange, and a collar, said weakened section beinglocated below said flange and above said collar; said container beingfitted with a one piece stopper inserted within said neck and having askirt and an inwardly extending lip, said skirt cooperating with saidcollar to ensure sealing of the stopper in that portion of the neckbelow the weakened section, said lip interlocking said flange, said liplocated below said flange and securing said stopper in the neck of saidcontainer; said weakened section capable of being severed by hand topermit removal of the stopper from that portion of the neck below thesevered weakened section.

12. A container having a neck comprising a weakened section, an innerseat, and a collar, said weakened section being located below said innerseat and above said collar; said container being fitted with a one piecestopper inserted within said neck and having a skirt and a shoulder,said skirt cooperating with said collar to ensure sealing of the stopperin that portion of the neck below the weakened section; said shoulderabutting said inner seat to limit the insertion of the stopper into thecontainer neck; a cap fitted over and secured to said stopper and saidneck, said cap making said stopper irremovable from that portion of theneck above the weakened section; said weakened section capable of beingsevered by hand to-permit removal of the stopper from that portion ofthe neck below the severed weakened section.

1. A container having a neck comprising a weakened section separating said neck into a portion above said weakened section and a portion below said weakened section; said portion above said weakened section comprising a flange and an inner seat, said flange situated above said inner seat; said portion below said weakened section comprising a collar; said container being fitted with a one piece stopper inserted within said neck and having a skirt and a shoulder, said skirt cooperating with said collar to ensure sealing of the stopper in that portion of the neck below the weakened section, said shoulder abutting upwards against said flange and downward against said inner seat so as to make the stopper irremovable from that portion of the neck above the weakened section; said weakened section capable of being severed by hand to permit removAl of the stopper from that portion of the neck below the severed weakened section.
 2. A container fitted with a stopper as claimed in claim 1 wherein the skirt of said stopper cooperates with said collar of said container neck permitting said container to be opened and closed subsequent to the severing of said weakened section.
 3. A container fitted with a stopper as claimed in claim 1 wherein said weakened section is provided with elongated aperture portions and wherein the portion of the neck on either side of the weakened section is interconnected by a plurality of bridging pieces, each of said bridging pieces arranged between a pair of elongated aperture portions.
 4. A container fitted with a stopper as claimed in claim 3 wherein said plurality of bridging pieces consist of a first plurality of bridging pieces of a first length and a second plurality of bridging pieces of a second length.
 5. A container fitted with a stopper as claimed in claim 3 wherein the elongated aperture portions consist of sections on either side of the bridging piece which are inclined.
 6. A container fitted with a stopper as claimed in claim 1 wherein said weakened section is provided with grooves.
 7. A container fitted with a stopper as claimed in claim 1 wherein the neck portion above the weakened section is provided with a non-circular external shape.
 8. A container fitted with a stopper as claimed in claim 1 wherein said weakened section is provided with an auxiliary crown-shaped member, the internal edges thereof having projections which totally pierce the neck at said weakened section.
 9. A container fitted with a stopper as claimed in claim 8 wherein said projections have sharpened radial edges.
 10. A container fitted with a stopper as claimed in claim 8 wherein said auxiliary crown-shaped member is provided with a noncircular external shape.
 11. A plastic container having a neck comprising a weakened section, an outwardly extending flange, and a collar, said weakened section being located below said flange and above said collar; said container being fitted with a one piece stopper inserted within said neck and having a skirt and an inwardly extending lip, said skirt cooperating with said collar to ensure sealing of the stopper in that portion of the neck below the weakened section, said lip interlocking said flange, said lip located below said flange and securing said stopper in the neck of said container; said weakened section capable of being severed by hand to permit removal of the stopper from that portion of the neck below the severed weakened section.
 12. A container having a neck comprising a weakened section, an inner seat, and a collar, said weakened section being located below said inner seat and above said collar; said container being fitted with a one piece stopper inserted within said neck and having a skirt and a shoulder, said skirt cooperating with said collar to ensure sealing of the stopper in that portion of the neck below the weakened section; said shoulder abutting said inner seat to limit the insertion of the stopper into the container neck; a cap fitted over and secured to said stopper and said neck, said cap making said stopper irremovable from that portion of the neck above the weakened section; said weakened section capable of being severed by hand to permit removal of the stopper from that portion of the neck below the severed weakened section. 